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Friday, April 15, 2016

The Highlights of "Emma 200: From English Village to Global Appeal" at Chawton House Library

A few weeks ago, I visited Chawton House Library
to view the fascinating exhibition, "Emma 200: From English Village to
Global Appeal", that commemorates the 200th anniversary of the
publication of Jane Austen's Emma. Emma 200 is the first major exhibition held by the library and a must-visit for any admirer of Jane Austen's literature.

As
I had my little children with me, I was only able to have a brief
glimpse of the exhibits, but I would certainly love to go back and
peruse the items in more detail. In this post, I will share some of the
things that captured my attention, along with some (very poor) images
taken by my mobile camera. I do apologise for the picture quality, but
feel I should share some images rather than upload a blank post. For a
more detailed review of the exhibition, you could have a look at the Review by the British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies.

As you enter the exhibition, the first things on display were a first edition of Emma, alongside a French and an American edition from 1816. Wouldn't I just love to get hold of one of these and have an original experience of reading Emma. I can just imagine how fragile these books must be when you are browsing through them.

The exhibition also features a number of newer editions of Emma - an interesting collection of adaptations of Emma
from popular culture. Now these are editions that I am far more
familiar with, as you would find several of these in my bookshelf! Most
recently, I have read Alexander McCall Smith's modern re-telling of Emma
(top row, second on the left), and have enjoyed watching all the film
adaptations and their companions, too.

One of the highlights of the exhibition for me would have to be Maria Edgeworth's silver inkstand and letter.

Edgeworth
was one of the most popular women authors of her time and one of Jane
Austen's favourite writers, a real source of inspiration for her from
early on. In 1816, Jane Austen sent a presentation copy of her novel
before its publication to Edgeworth, but unfortunately, the recipient
wasn't impressed by it. The letter below, written by Edgeworth, reads

"There is no story in it, except that Miss Emma found that the man whom
she designed for Harriet's lover was an admirer of her own—& he was
affronted at being refused by Emma & Harriet wore the willow—and
smooth, thin water-gruel is according to Emma's father's opinion a very
good thing & it is very difficult to make a cook understand what you mean
by smooth, thin water-gruel."

Edgeworth did not even acknowledge or thank Jane Austen for the copy of her book.

In
this more famous letter, from Charlotte Bronte to her publisher's
literary advisor, Williams, in 1850, Bronte criticises Jane Austen in
the following way:

"I have likewise read one of Miss Austen’s works, “Emma”- read it
with interest and just the degree of admiration which Mis Austen herself
would ache thought sensible and suitable- anything like warmth or
enthusiasm; anything energetic, poignant, heart-felt is utterly out of
place in commending these works: all such demonstration the authoress
would ache met with a well-bred sneer, would have clammy scorned as
outré and extravagant. She does her business of delineating peole
seriously well; there is a Chinese fidelity , a miniature delicacy in
the painting: she ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him
by nothing profound: the Passions are perfectly unknown to her; she
rejects even a speaking acquaintance with that stormy Sisterhood; even
to the Feelings she vouchsafes no more than an occasionally graceful but
distant recognition; too frequent converse with them would ruffle the
smooth elegance of her progress. Her business is not half so much with
the human heart as with the human eyes, mouth, hands and feet; what sees
keenly, speaks aptly, moves flexibly, it suits her to study, but what
throbs fast and full, though hidden, what the blood rushes through, what
is the unseen seat of Life and the sentient target of Death- this Miss
Austen ignores; she no more, with her mind’s eye, beholds the heart of
her race than each man, with bodily vision sees the heart in his heaving
breast. Jane Austen was a complete and most sensible lady, but a very
incomplete, and rather insensible ( not senseless)
woman; if this is heresy- I cannot help it.If I said it to some
people(Lewes form instance) they would directly accuse me of advocating
exaggerated heroics,but I not afraid of you falling into any such vulgar
error."

Jane
Austen was keen to collect opinions on her books, and religiously noted
them down in her notebook. Thankfully, Jane Austen was blissfully
unaware of these criticisms.

Sir Walter Scott's review of Emma (below) in The Quarterly Review
was more favourable. In his opinion, Jane Austen was an original
writer, and Emma represented an entirely new, realistic style of fiction
that he admired.

The
exhibition also features a copy of the Lady's Magazine, a hugely
popular magazine from 1811, which catered to ladies of the gentry. Jane
Austen is pretty sure to have read the periodical and I would love to
have a browse through it. We will learn more about the magazine through this fascinating research projectundertaken by the University of Kent.

The magazine was important for female authors like Jane Austen, as periodicals were the main channel through which ladies could publish their essays and stories and gain publicity in the literary circles. This would, in turn, enhance their chances of getting published by the likes of John Murray (whose correspondence is also displayed at the exhibition).

The
Ladies' Magazine also featured topics relevant to women at the time, such as
fashion, poetry and needlework, and featured patterns for embroidery. 10
of these patterns were recreated in an international stitch-off project
and the results are on display in the Oak Room. The designs are
beautiful and intricate and reminded me of the embroidery (possibly made
by Jane Austen) on her tiny glasses case on display in Basingstoke.

What
a fascinating exhibition! I would definitely urge any admirers of Jane
Austen's literature to visit the exhibition and get an interesting
glimpse into the literary life of the early 19th Century.

12 comments:

Hi Anna. Your pictures are very good. Thank you for a lovely review. I have also looked at the the links you have attached.I have not been able to got to the exhibition this week. I have had a back problem. I drove to Tenby with Marilyn over Easter. Driving that distance affected my back muscles.It is improving with gentle exercise. I hope to go next week.

Hi Anna, just to tell you. I have written a review of the exhibiton and my visit to Chawton House. Deb Barnum has said she wants to post it on her blog. Probably sometime in the next few days. While I was in Chawton I took loads of pictures. Vic wants to post those on her blog. All the best, Tony PS I hope you and your family are well? I remember how tiring young children are. All mine have grown up. They left home for university and now have all come back home for a while. They can't afford accommodation in South London. I am trying to encourage them to move north. Its cheaper.

Anna, just so that you know from me and don't just discover it. I sent a link to your aritcle to Deb, Vic and Margaret Sullivan. All three thought it was wonderful. Deb tweeted it and facebooked it. Deb is a member of the JASA committee that supports Chawton House and she sent a link to your article to Chawton House. They were very excited and ,"chuffed," about it.Sorry if I did the wrong thing.